Team Kim’s unexpected rise has made them headline news in a country where curling was barely heard of a fortnight ago.

Now it’s the hot topic of conversation across the nation.

And of course in their home town of Euiseong too, famous for garlic farming where thousands gathered at a local gymnasium to watch the final from a large projector and cheer on Pancake, Yogurt, Steak, Cookie and Sunny, the nicknames the girls chose to avoid confusion as they all share the same surname, Kim.

– Hammer blow –

Friends and families of the curlers packed the gym, where banners proclaimed: “Let’s dig for gold with the same strength we dig for garlic!”

Under the assured guidance of Skip Kim (Yogurt) Korea were smart out of the blocks, bagging the first point but the Swedes were 3-1 ahead by the fourth end.

With charismatic Kim biting her lip pensively her opposite number Hasselborg secured another point to put the Swedes 4-1 up at the halfway point of the 10-end game.

Team Kim pulled one back after the restart but their dream was dealt a hammer blow with Sweden picking up three points in the seventh end to make it 7-2.

Urged on by noisy support from the near 3,000-crowd at the Gangneung Curling Centre the Koreans nicked a point to go 7-3 but the Swedes got two in the next and skip Kim extended her hand to her opposite number to concede the final.

Swedish skip Hasselborg paid tribute to Team Kim, and said the welcome they had received in Korea had helped them take gold.

“We love Korean BBQ, therefore we love Korea!” she smiled.

“We’ve felt so at home in the Olympic village, all the volunteers are so smily and nice and helpful that it’s helped us to be on top form this week.”